When Raquel and I were still in the Philippines, before going home from work, we’d go to the Timezone video arcade at the Glorietta mall in Makati. I was addicted to the game called Dance Dance Revolution (3rd Mix).

Here is a short description of the game from DDR Freak for those not acquainted with it:

Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) conceptually is a very simple game. There is a platform with four arrows: up, down, left, and right.

DDR Platform

There are four stationary arrows at the top of the screen. There will be arrows that scroll up from the bottom of the screen.

DDR Screen

When the scrolling arrows overlap the stationary arrows, you then hit the corresponding arrow on the platform. And that’s it! You have now learned the basics of DDR.

Those video games are also available here in Australia but they weren’t as cheap so I almost never played it in a while anymore. That was until Raquel came over from the Philippines around three years ago and brought her Playstation (PSOne) with her along with some DDR games and the dance pad.

It wasn’t the same as playing on the actual arcade machine. The games she brought didn’t contain the songs I’ve grown to love while playing on the arcade machine version. The dance pad tends to slide across the floor while I’m using it unlike the arcade machine that has the dance pad essentially bolted to the floor. Nevertheless, it had satisfied my DDR cravings.

Since the dance pad kept on sliding on the floor, trying to get a good score on the game was a bit of a challange. Also, trying to stop it from sliding with my feet while dancing to a beat made my shins hurt. Eventually, I stopped playing the DDR PSX games because of that.

However, I did notice that playing DDR does provide me with daily aerobic exercise that I really needed. So that I would no longer be at the mercy of the sliding dance pad, I played the game one last time and I recorded on VHS the songs I liked.

So now, whenever I feel like DDR-style workout, I just play the video tape I have of the games I recorded and off I go. Although I can’t really improve on the score anymore (becuase it was pre-recorded, remember?) I still try a much as I could to get a perfect score by using the correct footwork.

The problem with that is that choosing songs from the VHS involved a lot of rewinding and fast-forwarding. So as a solution to that problem, I recorded each song on the video on my PC as an MPEG file and burned those files on a VCD. So now, I can use the DVD player to easily choose songs. Too bad the DVD doesn’t have a random chapter option though.

Had another one-on-one with the doctor today. After being prescribed a week’s worth of antibiotics which ended last Friday, I was quite annoyed to note that I still have coughing fits till now. Sure the runny nose and headache is gone but the cough has become irritating. When I got there, she asked about my symptoms, took my blood pressure, peered into my ear and mouth and listened to my back.

She said that the infection has actually cleared and what I’m experiencing is what she referred to as “lingering drip” (translated by Gj as tumatambay na tulo) in my sinuses. After prescribing a nasal spray, she looked like she’s ready to usher me out of the door. 10 minutes and she can’t wait to get me out of her office already. Trying to maximise my visit, I asked her about getting a flu shot as I heard from an office colleague that he had to ask his GP to order it beforehand prior to his visit. So I thought, hmmm… might as well as her to order the vaccine for me now so I could come back and have it done next time. Imagine my surprise then when she said that she’s got some in stock and that I could have it done now, I guess the shortages in the vaccine has already passed or she was able to secure her supply before the shortage was announced.

Either way, I said yes to the vaccine since I’d rather have the momentary discomfort of the needle than the misery a flu brings. The vaccine cost $25 and Medicare does not re-imburse for the cost. However, I figure it’s $25 well spent as I would surely lose more than that amount if I take days off work because of the flu. Having the shot also reminded me of the time when I was still working in a hospital, when our section would go together to be vaccinated for free. You even get free lollies after getting the shot, how’s that for incentive? I miss the lollies, the doc didn’t offer any.

Well, just as I thought the pain was almost gone for good, I woke up on Tuesday with a similar pain but on my right side! I thought about just staying home then but decided that I could probably endure it for the rest of the day. I also wanted to try the neck massage given at the Australia on Collins mall during the lunch break.

I had a difficult time concentrating on my work for the better part of the day. My posture at work wasn’t helping me at all. I got a little reprieve right after the $10 neck massage though. It was an amazing thing! It was my first enjoyable neck and shoulder massage.

Before going to bed, I applied Deep Heat on my shoulders and neck hoping that it would heal away the pain by morning. Unfortunately, when I woke up this morning, the pain was still persistent. I then decided to just stay home and rest the shoulder and neck and take some pain medication.

In the afternoon, I decided to go have another neck and shoulder massage but I didn’t want to go all the way to Australia on Collins just for that. So I went to a nearby Chinese massage service (like when I was in Canberra) to have a neck and shoulder massage (for $20!).

During the massage section, the pain was almost unbearable but I toughed it out. The pain I was receiving from the masseuse was numbing the pain I was feeling from my shoulder and neck. After the session, I was pleasantly surprised to feel improvement. That is, there was less pain now. Hopefully, the pain will have completely disappeared by tomorrow.